Originally Posted by
jrbnm
As for mine specifically I'd say it was perfect as a down and dirty commuter bike, but I wouldn't take it on a serious mountain biking trail. It served me really well on the streets of Seattle, and it was great that I could go over rough and broken pavement or into dirt. It's a lot slower than any of the street bikes with skinny wheels I saw other people with, but I was able to handle surprises and irregularities better. I certainly wouldn't pay $300 for that, I think you're right to bargain down. Good luck.
Thanks for the personal review. It's probably perfect for what I want it for, and would keep me from beating up, and having to clean up my road trainer and put regular (for me) tires back on it. I won't be on any type of mountain terrain (Florida flatlands primarily), just grassy, packed dirt, semi-soft dirt trails with some minor roots; I dismount for the tree trunks, bridges, and what not. my only issue with it other than the price is the sizing, which T-Mar suggests is larger than what I'm normally riding for older road bikes measured at seat post C-C. I'm 5'7" and ride between 50cm to 57cm, but primarily 51cm to 54cm. I definitely want a smaller frame for cross riding, this frame described as 19" C-T. Not being familiar with the geometry of these frames (ATB/MTB) in general makes it hard to determine if it will be a fit for my purposes; I could fit it no problem for road use, but that's not it's intended use. I hate to say it, but if I get that frame it's going to get scratched up for the first time since I nearly almost wipe-out every time I hit the trails, probably from using an ill equipped bike for the task (Look road pedals, DT friction shifters, road gearing, tires, etc.); but I regularly do a bunch of road miles to get to the trail and back so wanted to keep a general road set-up except running 30mm tires for the off-road sections.